Punisher Cameo in Captain America 2; Marvel One-Shot Planned?

Those anxiously waiting to see The Punisher back on the big screen after the rights reverted to Marvel Studios and Disney may have already gotten their wish, though they just don't know it yet. According to the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Frank Castle may have made a cameo appearance in their sequel, which just hit Blu-ray and DVD last week.

Brothers Joe Russo and Anthony Russo teased that the anti-hero is present (though not seen) in two important action sequences in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the driver of a giant yellow Penske truck. The truck first shows up when Nick Fury is under fire. Fury is able to escape when the big yellow vehicle plows into his attackers. Later in the movie, the same yellow truck reemerges when Agent Sitwell is thrown into traffic, where he is hit by the moving rig at a very high speed.

Joe and Anthony confirmed both trucks are one in the same, hinting that Frank Castle may be behind the wheel. Explains Joe Russo:

"The man who drives that truck is very highly trained. He thinks on his own terms. He's got a plan and a very specific skill set."

The directing brothers refused to name the character, though it's been highly speculated that the only person they could be referring to is The Punisher. Joe later goes onto say that the driver of the truck is a possible Marvel One-Shot candidate.

Coming Soon, who attended a Blu-ray signing event with the directors, note that the Punisher info was revealed in a 'joking' manner and is not confirmed. There are no current plans at Marvel and Disney to make a Punisher One-Shot, but it hasn't been ruled out either.

It isn't known if the Punisher was always intended to be the driver of the Penske truck, or if this is a theory the two brothers hit upon after being asked about it in multiple interviews, with fans wanting to known the driver's true identity, since he seems to be working on the side of Captain America.

A new Punisher movie or Marvel One-Shot is completely plausible as the studio now owns the rights. No plans for the character have been revealed yet, but this certainly is an interesting way to reintroduce him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.